Embrace your inner flâneur

EYE Weekly columnist Shawn Micallef has just launched a rather peculiar book about his experience walking around Toronto. Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto showcases this city in a refreshing approach illustrating its metropolitan beauty rarely appreciated by its inhabitants.

Micallef articulates a view of Toronto I've always identified with as someone who's grown up here and sees her hometown bashed or ignored far too often. Those who know and see Toronto's unique allure are those who quietly explore its many wonders. As he writes:

Since Toronto seems to exist without design or reason, we don't expect to turn the corner and see beauty or be amazed. Canadians from coast to coast are taught to hate Toronto, even if they can't always articulate why. But when you ask Torontonians about their city, why are so many people genuinely amazed about being Torontonian? ... Any Toronto flâneur knows that exploring this city makes the burden of self-deprecation disappear. And anybody can be a flâneur.

Micallef explains that walking is an essential way to indulge in Toronto's multifaceted culture and engage with its rich rhythm. As he outlines quite poignantly, the only way to truly experience Toronto's urban intrigue is to tred through its many pathways.

Toronto is a utilitarian city. People never talk about actually doing something for the sake of seeing the city. They go to work; they go home; they go out; they shop. You never see people looking around admiring the architecture or people-watching on a park bench. I think this is kind of true of most cities, but because Torontonians generally believe they have nothing impressive to look at, they don't bother looking.

This is why Toronto isn't really a tourist hub. Sure, lots of tourists come here, but they don't come to see Toronto specifically. Now that we don't have the tallest freestanding structure in the world, the only reason for people to come is to try to understand why 2.5 million people want to live here.

But as Micallef alludes to, there are so many beautiful things about Toronto that no one outside the city ever recognizes because they don't become part of its syncopation. The reason why Toronto is such a great city to live in is it moves at just the right pace. It's fast enough to be an exciting, big city, but it has its pauses where you can relax and take in its urban wonder. And the pace varies slightly depending on where you are and when you're there.

One of my favourite Toronto moments was over the Christmas break. My friend and I had just come out of a movie at the AMC and decided to park ourselves at Dundas Square while he had a smoke. In the summer, this place is packed with tourists, shoppers, students and many others. At that moment it was as silent as a Muskoka Lake. While most people were attending family dinners and catching up with friends in warm pubs, we sat serenely under the city's bright lights, oblivious to the irony of our situation.

Every city has their own beautiful idiosyncracies, and the best way to discover them is to wander around taking in the sights and sounds. Toronto is not at all the most exciting place to visit, but it's a wonderful place to live if you're someone who likes variety and quiet excitement.

This is why I think kids who grow up in the suburbs are extremely shortchanged compared to kids who spend their youth in Toronto proper. I didn't even grow up in the true urban parts of Toronto, but I did spend enormous amounts of time in my adolescence walking around and hopping on the TTC. When most of your childhood consists of piling into the family car and ignoring everything between points A to B, you never learn how to explore. City living becomes always about the destination, not the journey.

Now that I'm back in the city permanently, I am amazed at how many kids walk to and from school. The media is constantly making Gen-Y out to be completely sedentary and dependent upon rides from their parents to get around. Judging by the number of teens and tweens strolling my neighbourhood, I think they walk around far more than the suburban dwellers who have come to represent the norm of North American living.

You can read Micallef's book for all sorts of interesting paths to explore around the city, but here's one of my own: Bay St. Yeah, that's right, where all the bankers and high financiers carry out the proverbial rat race. It's an absolutely fascinating place to me. The architecture, the hussle and bustle, the zest of the power-suited people - it's the perfect place to bring out your inner flâneur, but I'm sure you can think of your own paths to examine and marvel at.

Banksy's cool, but don't forget the little guys

Everyone's excited about Banksy coming to Toronto, including myself. Torontoist.com has been avidly reporting on spottings around the city of art believed to be the work of the great British graffiti artist himself.

It certainly would give Toronto's streets a little more cred if they got Banksy's sticker of approval, but I hope Banksy's fame will shed a little focus on our city's many talented graffiti artists rather than act as a publicity stunt.

As many west-enders can attest, my favourite part of the subway ride downtown is between Keele and High Park stations, where I admire the block of beautiful art at the back of the buildings. Imagine if the entire subway ride were like that, with swirling colour and punchy urbane images cascading into the horizon. Here's a great video looking at the images up-close.

Dan Bergeron, a native of Montreal, is probably the closest equivalent to Banksy in Canada, having done work all over the world. His most famous recent work in Toronto is his collection of large posters on buildings in Regent Park. When the City announced the public housing project was going to be redeveloped, Bergeron started this art project to showcase the faces of the neighbourhood in protest of its "revitalization" - which most people interpret as a euphemism for gentrification. It's kind of an alternative - and uniquely Toronto - take on Banksy's artistic activism.

I'm hoping Banksy's presence will inspire more street art in the city. It's not likely the city will relax its vandalism laws, but maybe Banksy's hype can teach us to appreciate the brilliant graffiti we already have.